Monday, 4 July 2016

Private Investigator prosecuted by Data Protection Commissioner

Private Investigator James Cowleypleaded guilty to 13 charges under Section 22 of the Data
Protection Act for unlawfully obtaining access to personal data and disclosing
it to third parties without authorisation of the Department of Social
Protection. He had been hired by Permanent TSB, Zurich, Alliance and the State
Claims Agency to carry out surveillance on claimants. The prosecution has been welcomed
by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. It was the third successful
prosecution by the ODPC in the last two years in relation to offences committed
by private investigators.

The Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon said
the following in relation to the prosecution, “This outcome is a strong signal
to private investigators that they must fully comply with data protection
legislation. As this case highlights, where private investigators fail to
comply with the law they will be rigorously pursued and prosecuted for
offending behaviour. It is also a timely reminder to all companies and
businesses which hire private investigators of their responsibilities under the
Data Protection Acts to ensure that all work carried out on their behalf by
private investigators is done lawfully. I would urge public bodies and private
sector organisations who appoint private investigators to review their terms of
engagement, in order to satisfy themselves that any means of collection of
personal data used by the investigators they hire are in line with the
law."

Fintan Lawlor, Lawlor Partners Solicitors, was
the first solicitor in Ireland to secure compensation for a data subject whose
rights had been breached under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. The plaintiff
in the case of Collins v FBD has been pursued by a private investigator.